Chapter 7

After the semester started came military training, but before that, Zhao Yu had to take the company’s promotion evaluation.

The evaluation spanned three days, with Zhao Yu scheduled for the afternoon of the last day. Her Beginner class classmates had already finished their assessments, though the results weren’t out yet. Lin Zhinan came downstairs to meet her, visibly nervous.

Zhao Yu tried to reassure her: “You said you did pretty well—you’ll definitely pass this time!”

Lin Zhinan sighed, then asked, “How are you feeling about yours?”

Zhao Yu gave her an OK sign.

Since she’d consistently been praised by her instructors, Zhao Yu walked in to find the evaluators sitting up a little straighter, showing some anticipation.

She hadn’t been nervous before, but with all eyes on her, she couldn’t help feeling a bit tense. She told herself: This can’t be harder than the art college entrance exams, right? Stay calm! You’ve got this!

The evaluation had two parts: fundamentals, and a vocal-and-dance performance.

Zhao Yu breezed through the fundamentals portion. When it came time for the performance, she took a deep breath and signaled the sound technician.

As the music started, the evaluators raised their eyebrows. One leaned over to whisper, “This is Shen Junyi’s song, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, ‘So Busy.’ It’s pretty tough. Interesting that she chose it—seems confident in her abilities.”

“So Busy” was a single Shen Junyi had released earlier that year, still sitting at number one on the music charts. Both the dance and vocal demands were no joke, and the choreography had a distinctly masculine power to it—not particularly suited for a female dancer.

Zhao Yu had practiced it for a long time.

Her instructor had suggested she switch songs—with her current level, this one was still too challenging.

But this was the song he’d won Best Single with that year.

She wanted to use his award-winning song to push herself forward.

Every move, every step was burned into her muscle memory from countless repetitions. She’d made slight adaptations while preserving the song’s essence—and when masculine strength was expressed through a female body, it gained an edge of sexy, cool energy.

When the music stopped, Zhao Yu finally allowed herself to breathe heavily.

The evaluators murmured among themselves, then looked up and commented, “Your breath control is still a bit unstable—your vocals need work.”

Zhao Yu immediately held her breath.

Then the evaluator smiled and added, “But being able to complete the entire dance without a single mistake—you’ve done very well.”

Only then did Zhao Yu let out a long sigh of relief. Her eyes full of hope, she asked, “Did I pass?”

The evaluator laughed at her childlike eagerness. “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

When she stepped out, several classmates from the Beginner class were waiting outside. They crowded around her. “How’d it go? No mistakes, right?”

Zhao Yu pouted. “I went a little flat in the chorus—lost my breath control.”

Everyone comforted her, then sighed, “You shouldn’t have chosen that Shen Junyi song—it’s way too hard. But his songs do have great stage presence and grab attention—it’s up to the evaluators now.”

As they walked and chatted, a cold laugh came from nearby. “Some people are trying to run before they can even walk—and she dares to perform ‘So Busy.'”

Zhao Yu glanced at Feng You and was about to respond, but Lin Zhinan beat her to it: “What, only you’re allowed to dance to Shen Junyi? Did you buy exclusive rights from him?”

Zhao Yu then learned that Feng You had also picked a Shen Junyi song for her evaluation.

A girl nearby whispered, “She’s so bossy. Just because she likes Shen Junyi doesn’t mean she can get mad at others for choosing his songs too.”

Zhao Yu: “?”

She asked, “What?”

The girl curled her lip. “She’s a Shen Junyi fan.”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

She gave Feng You a complicated look.

…Suddenly she didn’t seem quite so annoying anymore.

All her friends were Huo Xi fans, and her rival was a Yiren—this world was too surreal!

With the evaluation over, Zhao Yu had to go back to school for two weeks of military training. Lin Zhinan promised to text her the results as soon as they came out.

By the time she got back to the dorm, it was already dark. Zhao Yu brought back some late-night snacks, only to find her three roommates huddled together squealing over a Huo Xi video. She suddenly didn’t feel like sharing.

Declining their invitation to watch together, she sat on her bed with her headphones on, secretly browsing Shen Junyi-related content.

Lin Yi sent her a WeChat: Yu Yu, there’s a brand event with gege next Friday—wanna come? No tickets needed! We’ll camp out early!

Zhao Yu replied with a crying emoji: I have military training next week.

Lin Yi: Oh right, I forgot you’re a freshman, haha. Good luck—remember to slather on sunscreen! I’ll send you on-site videos.

They chatted a bit more. Zhao Yu glanced at her roommates, who occasionally burst into squeals of fangirling, and couldn’t help asking Lin Yi: Yi Yi, is that Huo Xi guy really popular lately? I see his chart numbers are almost catching up to ours.

Lin Yi replied with three exclamation points and said: He’s just artificially hyped! We don’t even bother acknowledging him! Yu Yu, remember—the most important rule in fandom is to focus on your own bias!

Fandom newbie Zhao Yu: Okay! Got it!

The next morning, military training officially began.

Phones weren’t allowed during training, so Zhao Yu was distracted all morning. At lunch, she sprinted back to the dorm to check the evaluation results Lin Zhinan had sent.

There were already several messages in WeChat:

— Lin Zhinan: Aaaaah we both passed!!!

— Lin Zhinan: Feng You failed her Intermediate promotion and now she’s in our class. I don’t know whether to be happy or annoyed…

— Lin Zhinan: You broke her two-month record! Everyone’s talking about you! Feng You’s face is so sour—too bad you can’t see it hahahaha

— Lin Zhinan: Sigh, both Shen Junyi fans, but such a difference.

Zhao Yu finally relaxed after being tense all morning. She happily replied with a sticker.

Lin Zhinan replied instantly: Yu Yu’s the best!

Zhao Yu: Nan Nan’s the best too! Train hard—wait for me to get back!

Lin Zhinan: Don’t slack off at school either—Intermediate class training is way more intense. I’m afraid you’ll fall behind when you come back.

Zhao Yu: You think military training is easy?!

Military training was no joke. These freshmen endured devilish torment every day, but Zhao Yu treated it as physical conditioning. Thanks to her month of intensive training beforehand, she actually handled it pretty well.

Because of her ballet background and good posture, the drill instructor took one look and thought, Wow, this girl’s stance is textbook!

So she was pulled out to be the model cadet.

The guys looked at her, the girls looked at her, and Zhao Yu—who’d already gone from dorm beauty to class beauty—was now crowned campus beauty. Her roommates hugged her and shook her excitedly: “Campus beauty! Campus beauty! Yu Yu is amazing!”

Zhao Yu remained remarkably unfazed. “Just standard procedure. Stay calm.”

Roommate: “…Is it just me, or is Yu Yu a bit narcissistic?”

Another roommate: “Be confident—remove the ‘a bit.’ She’s very narcissistic.”

Zhao Yu: “I am not!”

Roommate: “Narcissistic and unaware of it, then.”

Zhao Yu: “…”

Am I really that narcissistic? She felt a little offended.

After a day of training, when she went to shower and looked at herself in the mirror, Zhao Yu touched her collarbone, then her abs, and gave an objective assessment: “I have a great body!”

…

The two weeks of military training flew by.

Despite wearing sunscreen, Zhao Yu had tanned a bit—but it didn’t detract from her looks. If anything, the darker skin tone made her look cooler.

After training ended and classes resumed, Zhao Yu started splitting her time between school and the company. Thankfully, she’d coordinated with the school beforehand, so neither was neglected—she just had to work harder than everyone else.

Her school curriculum also included dance training. Zhao Yu felt like she was finally paying back all the slacking off from her “over ten years” of dance practice.

Every moment of laziness as a child was now sweat pouring down her face QAQ

During English class, Lin Zhinan called. Zhao Yu glanced at the stern-looking English teacher on the podium and hung up.

But Lin Zhinan called again immediately. Zhao Yu ducked under her desk, covered her mouth, and whispered, “What?! I’m in class!”

The voice on the other end was shrill with excitement: “Get back to the company! Shen Junyi is here!”

Zhao Yu: “!!!”

The English teacher’s stern voice came from the podium: “What are you doing down there? If you don’t want to be in class, you can leave!”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

Her English was already terrible—she was borderline for the final exam—and if she got docked participation points, she’d definitely fail.

She gritted her teeth, hung up on Lin Zhinan, and sneakily replied: I’ll come back after class!

Lin Zhinan: By the time class ends, it’ll be too late! He’s here to meet a choreographer—he’ll probably leave right after. Even Feng You got an autograph and photo! You’re going to miss your idol!

Zhao Yu panicked: Stall him for me!

Lin Zhinan: ??? Who do you think I am??? If I could stall Shen Junyi, would I still be here???

Zhao Yu didn’t reply.

Lin Zhinan paced anxiously outside the office, watching the crowd of onlookers.

Over an hour later, the office door opened. Shen Junyi walked out, chatting and laughing with the choreographer. This was Lin Zhinan’s first time seeing him in person, and his beauty hit her like a truck. By the time she snapped out of it, he was already nearing the elevator.

Fine, if Yu Yu couldn’t see him in person, at least she could see a video!

She quickly pulled out her phone to record, but the assistant beside Shen Junyi noticed and immediately said, “No photos!”

Lin Zhinan’s hand trembled as she awkwardly lowered her phone.

Shen Junyi, still chatting with the choreographer, looked up and caught her embarrassed expression. He smiled warmly and asked, “Want a photo together?”

Lin Zhinan swallowed, walked over slowly, and mustered the courage to say, “I don’t need a photo—could I just get an autograph?”

Shen Junyi nodded with a smile. “Sure.”

His approachability made Lin Zhinan even more embarrassed.

After getting the autograph, Shen Junyi waved goodbye and stepped into the elevator. Lin Zhinan looked at the flamboyant signature on the paper, then at the cheerful boy inside the elevator, and thought: No wonder Yu Yu likes him.

Even though she hadn’t met him in person, getting an autograph should make Yu Yu happy!

Lin Zhinan was about to leave, tucking the autograph back into her pocket, when the elevator next to her dinged open. Zhao Yu burst out, drenched in sweat, and immediately asked, “Where is he?!”

Lin Zhinan pointed at the elevator beside them and stamped her foot. “Just got in!!! Quick! Let’s take the stairs—we can still catch him!”

The first floor was the lobby, and the second floor had a circular staircase overlooking it.

They ran to the second floor just in time to see Shen Junyi and his party heading for the revolving glass doors.

Lin Zhinan anxiously tried to drag her downstairs, but Zhao Yu suddenly grabbed her arm.

Lin Zhinan turned and saw her panting, her gaze fixed on the revolving doors. Zhao Yu said quietly, “No, let’s just watch from here.”

Lin Zhinan was more anxious than she was. “Go get a photo together!”

Zhao Yu shook her head. “No. Just watching is enough.”

Lin Zhinan was frustrated. “Why are you so timid?!”

Zhao Yu watched his retreating figure and finally said slowly, “Not yet.”